Just for Kids

Museum Exhibits

ON THE CLOCK: Changing The Industrialized World

On the Clock: Changing the Industrialized World opened at the National Watch and Clock Museum on Friday, April 24. Time recorders from Edward J. Watkins and pieces from the Museum’s collection will highlight the important advancements in labor in the United States.

Beginning in the late nineteenth century the National Labor Relations Act protected the rights of employees and employers, and the Fair Labor Standards Act outlined minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and youth employment standards. The exhibit also highlights the first time-recording companies, the typical workday in the nineteenth century, labor unions, and the possibilities the future workday may hold.

Museum Curator Kim Jovinelli, who joined us in December, debuts with the On the Clock exhibit. Kim shares, “I am excited to give the public a glimpse into something many of us have to do on a daily basis and what exactly had to happen to get us to this point. Having a job is an integral part of survival in the modern era. This is a look back at history, an examination of the present, and a look forward to the not too distant future.”

On the Clock is sponsored by the E. G. Watkins Family Foundation, runs through December, and is included with Museum admission.

JAMES BOND WORE The Quartz Revolution

James Bond Wore the Quartz Revolution—a brand new exhibit—will challenge what visitors think they know. Displays will feature important wristwatches from the commercial history as it unfolded—all worn by the James Bond character in the EON Productions movies of the period.

The exhibit opens June 3, 2015, at the National Watch & Clock Museum in Columbia, PA. Bond expert Dell Deaton (JamesBondWatches.com) will curate the latest addition to expanded Museum displays to enhance the vital contributions of wristwatches to societies.

"We hope to correct myths arguing that the Quartz Revolution was nothing more than about making watches cheaper," says Deaton. "Or that an understanding of this 'revolution' requires no more than understanding how Quartz oscillators work as a time-basis.

"This exhibit seeks to explain why this revolution happened when it happened and shows how it continues to remain invaluable to contemporary society—at the very least, to reopen the discussion and move beyond cliché.

"The most important outcome of the Quartz Revolution was that it delivered a vast leap in one’s personal, mobile ability to control his own timekeeping. It was the culmination of a centuries-old pursuit, and it was delivered at exactly the period in history when consumers were ready for it and demanding it. None of this was simple or obvious as it was happening," Deaton continues.

"The Quartz Revolution is essentially a consumer-driven story. That’s something too easily missed when you exclusively focus on the watch companies, betting on winners and losers who anted up for the battles as they played out in the 1970s, ’80s, and then finally settling down in the 1990s."

"By focusing on the fictional 'James Bond' character, we create a proxy for the consumer that can stand as a brand on equal footing with those of watchmakers. Thus, we can tell this story from its necessary, original perspective. I also think that makes it more globally objective as well."

At the center of this exhibit are examples of all 12 quartz James Bond wristwatches representing screen-correct models of those featured in EON productions movies premiered from 1973 through 1995.

It is believed that this is the first time ever that all real-world Bond quartz watches have been shown side-by-side and running. Moreover, these watches optimally reflect key challenges, solutions, and innovations of the Quartz Revolution in their own rights: They just happen to have been James Bond choices as well.

“We’re excited once again to explore an important aspect of wristwatch development through the story of James Bond,” says Museum Director Noel Poirier. “The Bond story is universally understood and relatable for our visitors and allows us to explore the significant influence of the quartz revolution in an engaging way.”

Access to the James Bond Wore the Quartz Revolution gallery is included with Museum admission.